Freedom (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Danny pays a visit to Carl and Julia Lennox.


_Mari & Ilna-you guys are the absolute best! Thank you for EVERYTHING!_

_REAL Worlders-you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the support and encouragement._

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**Freedom (1/1)**

"You asked to see me," a grim-faced Danny said as he took a seat across the table from Carl and Julia Lennox and their respective lawyers in the large interrogation room at HPD. The orange jumpsuits the prisoners were wearing stood in stark contrast to the expensive, well-tailored suits of their legal representation. It did Danny's heart good to know that no amount of high-priced legal talent, paid for with the proceeds of their illicit empire no doubt, could save the two scumbags who had abandoned DJ to fend for himself from a life in prison.

They'd been brought in to meet with the acting PA about the possibility of trading information on their supply line and distribution network for a lighter sentence. The federal authorities had taken custody of Almas Fairiborz, but Lea was determined to find and prosecute everyone else involved in the operation on the local level. The first step had been to appoint an acting PA to take the place of Frank Kaewa and lead his office in the wake of his arrest. Lea was pleased when Amelia Frantz, a longtime assistant in the PA's office with an impeccable record had agreed to take the position until a special election could be arranged.

Her morning meeting with the Lennoxes and their lawyers, meant to be the first step in a potential pea bargain arrangement, had not gone as well as she'd hoped. It was clear Carl and Julia Lennox knew more than they were saying. Before being returned to their holding cells they demanded to see "the head of 5-0" and insisted they had an offer he'd want to hear.

Carl slouched back in his chair; his cuffed hands secured to the table in front of him. He had a habit of sucking his own teeth and the sound went through Danny's head like a knife. "We asked to see McGarrett. We have a deal we think he'll be interested in."

It took every ounce of self-restraint Danny had to keep from knocking the smug look off the man's face, but he was here with one purpose in mind and he would not be thrown off course. "He's not available."

Lennox looked at his wife with a raised eyebrow and she nodded almost imperceptibly in return. He clenched his jaw and glared at Danny, his eyes still holding the glassy look of a longtime drug user. "I guess you'll have to do."

"Let's hear it." Danny refused to even acknowledge the man's feeble attempts at intimidation tactics. Carl Lennox had spent most of his time in the drug world riding the coattails of his brother-in-law. Even after Seth McDonald's death his name and reputation still carried weight with the local dealers and suppliers and Carl had exploited that for his own gain. "I'm a busy man."

Lennox pushed an envelope toward Danny with his cuffed hands. "Julia and I got papers from CYS saying they wanted us to voluntarily end our guardianship of the boy so he can get adopted right away."

Danny nodded, careful to keep his expression neutral.

"That lady from Children's Services sounded like she wanted us to sign real bad." Lennox paused for what Danny assumed was dramatic affect. He was clearly a man who, despite the situation, felt as though he had the upper hand. "We talked it over and decided we might be willing." He smirked. "On a couple of conditions."

"I renew my objection to this discussion," his attorney said. "Anything offered here would be completely useless if not backed up by the Prosecuting Attorney."

"I told you we will handle this," Lennox snapped. "You're just here as a witness to whatever agreement we work out."

"You're paying your lawyer a lot of money. You should listen to him. I'm not the person you talk to about a deal," Danny said. "That would be the PA." He pushed back his chair and started to stand. "So, if that's all…"

"We already talked to the PA. We didn't like what she had to say," Lennox said.

His lawyer cut in again. "At this point I'm going to advise my client not to talk about the details of the Prosecuting Attorney's offer until we've had time to discuss it further."

Lennox once again ignored the advice and leaned forward, ready to spring what he appeared to believe was a fool-proof trap. "We heard through the grapevine the boy is staying with McGarrett and his wife and maybe they're the ones who want to adopt him."

Carl and Julia shared a triumphant grin.

"We can help make that happen," he continued. "If McGarrett is ready to play ball."

Danny wasn't surprised news of DJ's living situation had reached the Lennoxes. News traveled fast through the Convict News Network. He sat back down and looked at first Carl, then Julia. "Play ball, how?"

His plan was to give the couple just enough rope to hang themselves. Rather than leave the building after her earlier interview with the Lennoxes, the acting PA, Amelia Frantz, was watching from the other side of the two-way glass. If things went the way he hoped, they'd both leave the building today with exactly what they wanted.

Carl's chest puffed out, thinking he'd struck a nerve and things were about to turn their way. "First off, we want minimum time. No more than five years. And we want it in a minimum-security prison."

"Again, that's not a decision Five-0 makes," Danny said, knowing full well that no matter what, or who, they had to offer there was very little chance the Lennoxes wouldn't be spending decades behind bars.

"McGarrett has a lot of pull on this island. So does his wife. They can talk to the governor and make it happen," Julia insisted, believing that for the first time since Fairiborz was arrested she and Carl had found a way out of their bad situation. She'd never wanted to take custody of her nephew in the first place but if he ended up helping them get what they wanted she guessed it would have been worth it. Her brother may have chosen to go out in a hail of gunfire, but she wasn't willing to go down that path. She was determined to leverage whatever she could to get Carl and herself a cushy deal.

Danny inhaled deeply. "You want a big sentence reduction you're gonna have to turn over some big fish."

"We can do that," Lennox bragged.

Danny shook his head doubtfully. "I'm not sure you can."

Men like Carl Lennox were so easy to bait.

The prisoner's jaw tightened and his fists clenched. "I can."

"I'm not talking about just the local street-level guys," Danny said with a tone just condescending enough to get Lennox going. "I'm talking about the guys at the top of the supply chain too. The international players."

"Like Fairiborz?" Lennox asked smugly.

"We already have Fairiborz," Danny said, once again moving to stand. "If he's the best you can do …"

"What about Felipe Ortega?" Lennox spat out as his lawyer once again unsuccessfully attempted to get him to keep his mouth shut.

"You can give us Ortega?" Danny asked, making sure his voice contained a hint of doubt.

"All tied up in a little bow," Lennox bragged. "We've met with him at his private villa on the big island. We know his entire operation. He's the link between Fairiborz and the producers. He's the man who really makes it all happen."

The local authorities tried as hard as they could to convince Almas Fairiborz to turn on Felipe Ortega before he was remanded to federal custody, but it was to no avail. To have him fall in their laps via the Lennoxes, who probably only ever met him due to their connection to Julia's brother and sister-in-law, was a major coup.

"You told the PA all this?" Danny asked.

"Not yet," Lennox smirked. "Can't show her all our cards at once."

"We need to know McGarrett and his wife are on board with our plan first," Julia said. "They can convince the governor and then it won't matter what the Prosecuting Attorney thinks."

"But we have a list of things we want in return for Ortega," Carl said.

"Once again I have to suggest …" his lawyer began.

"I have to agree," Julia's lawyer said. "You shouldn't …"

"We told you we know what we're doing," Carl snapped and both lawyers shook their heads but didn't say another word. "Like I said before we want minimum time in a minimum-security prison. Here on the island. We also want regular conjugal visits."

The fact that these two degenerates thought they could barter with the well-being of an innocent young boy like DJ made Danny's blood boil, but he was careful not to let that show just yet.

"Once we get out, we want Witness Protection. Somewhere warm. And we want a cushy set-up. Not some factory job," Carl said as though he was reciting his Christmas list.

"In fact, we don't want to work at all," Julia said. "The government will owe it to us to support us if we give up Ortega."

"Is that all?" Danny asked.

"Not quite. We want protective custody in the joint. Even in minimum security there might be some people who have a grudge against us from previous business dealings," Lennox said. "And extra phone privileges. I want to be able to talk to Julia whenever I want. You give us all that and we'll sign the papers today and the boy can go wherever he wants."

He smiled at Julia who blew him a kiss in return.

"His name is DJ you dirtbag." Danny exploded up out of his chair causing all four people on the other side of the table to recoil.

He placed his palms on the table and glared at Carl Lennox.

"You have absolutely no power in this situation so let _me_ tell _you_ how this is going to go."

"You were cooking meth in the spare bedroom, working with international terrorists, and when it all went to shit you left a six-year-old boy to fend for himself. There's no way you're getting anywhere near him ever again. Your guardianship is over. The only question is whether it ends the easy way or the hard way."

"The easy way means you sign the papers, right now," Danny growled, flinging the envelope back towards Carl Lennox, "And you never have to see me again. I'll leave you to whatever you can work out with the Prosecuting Attorney in terms of sentencing, which I can pretty much guarantee isn't gonna involve conjugal visits or minimum-security facilities."

He leaned closer and looked from Carl to Julia then back to Carl.

"The hard way is a little dicier. If you choose not to sign the papers, and you make CYS go through the legal process of removing you, I am gonna become your worst nightmare. I will show up for every court appearance you have. I will lobby for the toughest sentence and the worst maximum-security prison. I will make it my mission to see you placed on a cell block full of your enemies. And if that's not enough, I'll personally make sure Felipe Ortega knows you were willing to trade his freedom for a cushy ride for yourself. How long do you suppose you'll survive after that word gets out?"

"You can't … I'll deny it," Lennox sputtered as Julia watched the scene unfolding before her in wide-eyed silence.

Danny pointed to the camera in the corner of the room near the ceiling. "Remember the waiver you signed before your interrogation," he said. "The one that said you consent to being taped while on the premises?"

"You can't do this!" Julia cried. "If we're going to give you Ortega you have to protect us."

"That's something you'll have to take up with the PA," Danny said as Amelia entered the room. "If I were you, I'd tell her everything you know. But whatever you decide to do your guardianship of DJ is over." He gave them both one last look. "You remember what I said about signing those papers. The choice is yours."

* * *

After work Danny headed to the beach house to fill Steve and Catherine in on the events of the day. When he arrived, he found a mini celebration in progress. The living room was filled with loud music. A large balloon bouquet sat on the table along with a cake that read _Congratulations_ that had an Angie sized handprint in the icing. DJ was wearing a party hat while what Danny assumed had at one point been Angie's hat was hanging off Cammie's collar.

"Dannnnnnnnnnnooo See ba-woons?" Angie giggled happily.

"Angiiiiiiiiiie." He grinned. "I see them. What's the occasion?"

"Estella came by about an hour ago with the cake and balloons." Catherine beamed. "The Lennoxes signed the papers. We can officially start adoption proceedings for DJ."

"That's awesome!" Danny hugged Catherine first, then Steve. "I'm so happy for all of you."

DJ tugged on his sleeve. "And guess what?"

"What?" Danny smiled.

DJ turned to Catherine. "Can I show him?"

"Of course you can."

DJ took Danny's hand and led him to the family photo wall where a new picture of the family of four taken while decorating the Christmas tree had been hung. "Look. I'm in one of the pictures on the wall," he said proudly.

"You sure are." Danny gave the young boy a high five. "The first of many I'm sure."

"I'm gonna grab some plates for cake before Angie just digs in with her hands," Catherine said. "Can you stay, Danny?"

"I'd love to," he grinned.

As the kids followed Catherine to the kitchen Steve turned to his best friend and partner. "Estella said Carl and Julia had a pretty quick change of heart about signing the papers," he said. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Danny feigned innocence. "Nope. I guess they decided they had more pressing things to worry about."

Steve looked doubtful. "Thanks, Danny," he said sincerely. "For whatever it is you did."

"I didn't do anything you wouldn't do for me," Danny said as Angie zipped past him with a paper plate in her hands chanting, "Cake cake cake cake."

Before he went to join the celebration he took one last look at the four smiling faces in the newest picture on the wall.

'Magic for sure,' he thought to himself as he yelled "I want a corner" and joined the party.

**THE END**

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